Uzbekistan plans to create a network of “Shaded Walking Streets” in 32 cities and districts across the country, the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change announced.
The initiative was proposed in a draft presidential decree, “On the State Program for the Implementation of Uzbekistan-2030 Strategy in the Year of Environmental Protection and Green Economy”.
The “Shaded Walking Streets” project is scheduled for 2025-2027 and is expected to reduce air pollution on busy streets by 5-10 percent and air temperature along shaded sidewalks by 3-5 degrees Celsius.
The project aims to expand the country’s green area up to 14.1% and build more than 110 kilometers of walking pathways along the banks of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs across the country.
It will also help increase the level of physical activity of the population and create more opportunities for a healthy lifestyle.
The initiative fully aligns with Uzbekistan’s nationwide program, Yashil Makon (Green Space), which aims to preserve and restore biodiversity through the greening of urban and rural areas. Launched by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in November 2021, the Yashil Makon program is aimed at the planting of one billion trees and shrubs across the country over five years. It aims to increase the level of greening in Uzbek cities to 30 percent and create green belts around them.
